Was Show Luo truly sorry for cheating scandal? Plus, a look at other celebrity apologies in 2020

Show Luo

Credit: Show Luo/ Weibo

1/5

Possibly the biggest scandal in Mandarin entertainment this year has been Taiwanese pop star Show Luo's ugly break-up with Chinese influencer girlfriend Grace Chow.

Chow, 31, accused Luo, 40, of cheating on her multiple times throughout their nine-year relationship.

Luo initially tried to make light of the matter, saying "a lot of things are not easy to explain with a few words".

But he released a formal apology a day later. In it, he wrote: "I want to solemnly apologise to Ms Grace Chow for our relationship. I'm sorry. I was wrong. You gave your all to me in these nine years, but I did not cherish us, did not cherish someone who loves me so much.

"I was immature and complacent and lied to you over and over again, hurting you. I have truly made many mistakes and I want to apologise to all the women I have lied to and disrespected."

Verdict: Fail. The formal apology is passable - ticking all the right boxes - but unfortunately, Luo's initial minimising statements showed no sign of remorse, suggesting his apology was forced.

Jenna Marbles

Credit: JJ_1986_JJ/ Instagram

2/5

One of the earliest and most successful YouTube stars, Jenna Marbles announced in an emotional video posted last month that she would be taking a hiatus from the platform that made her an Internet celebrity.

In it, Marbles, 33, whose real name is Jenna Mourey, talked about three old clips of herself from 2011 to 2012, wearing blackface and impersonating rapper Nicki Minaj, spouting misogynistic views and rapping with lyrics that are offensive to Asians.

She apologised for them and explained that she had set many of her old videos as private as she did not want "to put out negative things into the world".

She said specifically of the Minaj video, which was uploaded in 2011: "It's not okay, it's shameful. It's awful and I wish it wasn't part of my past."

She also said her rap video was "inexcusable" and admitted that she had a lot of "internalised misogyny" when she made a clip ranting about women who "slept around".

Verdict: Pass. Marbles took responsibility for old clips of herself - going so far as to play and confront the offending clips and articulate exactly what she was apologising for.

Kim Jae-Joong

Credit: YouTube screengrab

3/5

South Korean pop idol Kim Jae-joong, 34, had to apologise for an Instagram post in which he said he had been diagnosed with Covid-19 on April Fool's Day. He has since deleted it.

He later admitted he had made up his diagnosis and was roundly criticised by netizens, who were upset that he treated the pandemic as a joke.

Kim then tried to justify his prank, following the furore, by writing: "I posted a joke, but I do not think it is only an April Fool's joke.

"I did it to alert people."

He belatedly added: "I sincerely apologise to the government, medical staff and people who are following the government's guidelines to overcome the coronavirus situation for upsetting their feelings."

Verdict: Fail. Joking about a global pandemic, which has claimed more than half a million lives and plunged the world into a deep recession, is a bad enough decision. It was made worse only possibly by his justification that he was sounding an "alert".

The Jimmys of Late Night TV

Credit: Reuters

4/5

Late night talk-show hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have both recently been slammed for using blackface in early comedy sketches.

Old clips of Fallon, 45, impersonating comedian Chris Rock on sketch show Saturday Night Live in 2000; and Kimmel, 52, using blackface to play celebrities such as Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey on The Man Show (1999 to 2004) surfaced on the Internet, prompting backlash.

Amid large-scale protests against police brutality towards African Americans, Fallon and Kimmel both apologised.

Fallon said in a tweet: "In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this.

"I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable."

He then invited activist Derrick Johnson and news anchor Don Lemon, both African Americans, on his programme for a wider conversation on combating racism in the United States.

Kimmel said of his old clips in a statement: "There is nothing more important to me than your respect and I apologise to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the make-up I wore or the words I spoke."

Without using the word "blackface", Kimmel called the sketches "embarrassing" and added that he felt frustrated "these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish (his) criticisms of social and other injustices".

Verdict: Pass for Fallon, fail for Kimmel. Fallon seemed genuinely interested in addressing his past actions - not only tweeting an apology, but dedicating a monologue segment in his show to holding himself accountable. He also gave a platform to African Americans on his show to discuss how to move forward from his mistake and to address issues of racism and police brutality.

On the other hand, Kimmel's apology, timed during a summer break from hosting his show - led to speculation that he was trying to lie low amid public criticism of him. He was also upset that these old clips had undermined his advocacy of other social causes.

While that is understandable, a public apology for blackface was not the time for Kimmel to focus on his own frustrations.

Lea Michele

Credit: Leamichele/ Instagram

5/5

Lea Michele, star of American musical series Glee (2009 to 2015), tweeted in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of African American George Floyd because of police brutality.

Her former co-star on Glee, black actress Samantha Ware, retweeted her and accused her of bullying on-set.

Ware was supported by other members of the cast. Many more people, including RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Willam Bart Belli, came forward to recount how they were ill-treated by Michele over the years.

Netizens, who said they were extras on Glee, revealed that she openly referred to them as "cockroaches".

Michele, 33, later released a statement on Instagram, saying: "Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult, I apologise for my behaviour and for any pain which I have caused."

Verdict: Fail. Michele made no mention of the people she hurt - specifically, she failed to mention by name Ware and others who had shared their bad experiences with her - thus rendering her apology vague and ineffective. She also took no ownership of her actions, by putting the blame on how others "perceived" her.



This article was first published in The Straits Times.